IRAQ UPDATES
August 15 - 17, 2008

Watching the Russian Games in Georgia

August 15

The battle line between Bush and Putin have been drawn. Neither side is wishing to back down. A pile of hellish weaponry stands behind both men, reaching the skies, a testament that the world has long been sick. It's socialistic dragon versus democratic dragon, the hissing is about to start. Russia says it will absolutely not remove from Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and Bush is demanding just that. What now?

My assessment, as an unbiased watcher, is that Russia has been belligerent. The Americans are correct about that. The question therefore rests on whether the damage to South Ossetia was a great as Russia claims, for if the damage to human life was in the thoudands of deaths, and many more wounded, the belligerence devolves, at worst, into passing judgment and sentencing without a trial. If Russia refuses to show the damage in the Ossetian capital, then the world cannot trust it's report on the matter, and Russia must therefore be deemed guilty of the war crimes.

Bush is in error to trust Saakashvili at his word. Bush needs to stay unbiased, if he were a good man, and ask to come see the Ossetian capital for himself, to assess how much force the Georgians used against it, whether it was as bad as Russia claims, or as little as Saakashvili claims. This is justice, a quality that God demands of the human race. He doesn't want men to protect the guilty, or condemn the innocent.

Is Bush better than Putin if Bush protects the guilty? Will America and the rest of the West stand behind Saakashvili before seeing the evidence? Unregretably, that's what the Western leaders are trying to manufacture at this time. I'm sorry, lest I be the fool of the West, I have decided to sacrifice my patriotism for the sake of Truth. Although I don't even know my own heart, except to acknowledge its sinfulness, I still love the truth and wish I could be perfectly righteous. What's it like to be perfectly righteous, to have God at your side through every breath and act of every the day or night? Frankly, I don't know. I know just a small taste.

I don't know what Rice's appearance in Georgia today will effect. She seems like a straight shooter, one that the bear would maul rather than respect. I figure her calls will go unanswered. Today Russia will see that the Americans are In Georgia as nothing that could trouble a bear. Bush will see this and wonder how to act more forcefully, knowing that he has limitations to his threats. Bears become frightened when you surprise them. Russia knows exactly what Rice will say today; it'll come as no surprise.

There isn't enough data on the Russian "advance" toward Kutaisi to give an opinion on what Russia has in mind.

Zzzzzz...

Good morning. It's 7 am Eastern, 2 pm Israeli time, 3 pm in Georgia. I have just visited the Jerusalem Post and have found an astonishing report: the UN official tending the Lebanon-Israeli 1701 ceasefire has come down hard on Israel and given Hezbolah high marks:

"Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Maj.-Gen. Claudio Graziano on Thursday [yesterday] accused Israel of violating UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that brought an end to the Second Lebanon War.

During a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Graziano cited the IAF forays over Lebanon and the village of Ghajar, which he called 'a permanent violation of 1701' and 'a permanent area under occupation.'

...In contrast, he said that the UN enjoyed excellent cooperation with Hizbullah and with the local Lebanese people. 'At this moment Hizbullah is one of parties that agrees with 1701,' he stressed.

Graziano asserted that apart from UN troops, Lebanese soldiers and hunters, no one was armed south of the Litani River. 'We have seen hunters, we saw somebody moving with one weapon and he was arrested, but we never met anybody [else] moving with weapons,' he said.

...The UNIFIL commander emphasized that Israel had made numerous allegations regarding weaponry that UNIFIL was investigating.

This report is ridiculous. Hezbolah knew UNIFIL was in the area checking things out, so that Hezbolah would, naturally, clean house during the visit. Also, Patraeus was in Lebanon recently as well. Besides, Israel has flown over southern Lebanon and claims that Hezbolah is hiding weaponry beneath the ground and in houses. To report that Hezbolah has no weapons just because no one is carrying rifles on the streets south of the Litani is ridiculous. Shame on Graziano!

My question is: is this the start of the UN betrayal of Israel? Is this the point in which Israel is made to appear the problem? I'll admit that Israel could be lying about the build up of Hezbolah's missiles, up to 40,000 in number claimed, but until a thorough investigation takes place, it's just too early to judge one way or the other. DEBKAfile reported several days ago where the stashes of weaponry are thought to be. Were these locations checked? The Post says nothing about it, so I sought other articles and found this at Haaretz (Israel):

"When asked about the smuggling of weapons into Lebanon, Graziano said he could not ensure that the area under his jurisdiction would be impenetrable, though he did add that there is no evidence of arms smuggling nor has there been movement of armed gunmen."

Nothing said about a search made for the weapons said to be underground or in houses. Nothing said about collaborating with Israeli inteligence in seeking those weapons (Israeli intelligence wouldn't want Hezbolah to know, anyway, that it knows where the weapons are). To say there's "no evidence of arms smuggling" if one is merely watching for men with rifles is a bit disconcerting. I think what's happening, judging from Graziano's tone, is that he and other UN members in southern Lebanon are frightened stiff for their lives, for which reason they have decided to give good reports on Hezbolah, not to seek their weapon caches, and even to voice Hezbolah's accusations against Israel. Amazing, really, that the UN has allowed itself to become the mouthpiece of Hezbolah.

I cannot find this story at Lebanon's Daily Star, and so, apparently, UNIFIL's atitude now is its normal attitude of the past, i.e. nothing surprising to Lebanon. One point to make is that, if THIS IS IT, God will assure that weaponry to be used against Israel remains intact.

In Georgia, the report is that Russians are still looting homes and destroying Georgia's military facilities without retaliation from Georgian fighters:

"The United States accused Russia yesterday of waging a campaign to cripple Georgia’s ability to defend itself in the future.

As American military transport aircraft landed in Tbilisi to strong complaints from Moscow, the Russian Army undertook search-and-destroy missions on Georgian soil, defying the ceasefire agreement brokered by President Sarkozy of France."

Keep in mind that the Times inflates their Georgia stories somewhat. I don't know what the "strong complaints from Moscow" have been, and it's hard to see why Moscow would openly oppose aid coming into T'bilisi...unless weapons are thought to be coming for the ride. In fact, the article goes on to say, "the deputy head of Russia’s General Staff raised doubts about the aid delivered to Tbilisi on board C17 transports of the US Air Force." This would then explain why Russia is destroying military facilities, to offset the war support that it suspects from the U.S. The article says that Russia wants to check the cargo both in T'bilisi and in Poti, but this may be an excuse to remain in those areas. By the same token, Russia should allow the U.S. to check the South Ossetian capital for damage levels; it would be a big hand played if true that it's severe.

The Washington Times reports that the Russian blockade of Gori remains today, but that some supplies are being allowed into the ghost town. There is simply no reason for Russians to remain at this critical locality except to anger the enemy, and to keep the country from repairing the damage. Putin is moreover intimidating Bush for the time being, and checking him to see what he might do about it. It's probably a good thing for Georgia that Bush doesn't wear flip flops; I think Bush is getting his spurs on for a little dust-raising affair. "Move over Condoleeza, and put away that bear spray; I've got some whipping to do here."

But how do we suppose Bush will chase this bear away now that the Georgian military has been neutered and gelded? What whip will he use? Well, today he said, "Bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century." That's not exactly a lashing, but he's just getting warmed up. This could go on for a long time. Baba Yaga Bear is having a picnic, hoping the ranger will make a big...er...boo-boo. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/15/us.russia/index.html

In Pakistan, Musharraf is about to resign. My, how things can change. Poor Obama, he'll have some overwhelming issues to face all at once. The Democrats, who could do nothing good, who merely complained like children all Bush-term long, will be up to their eyeballs in making their share of mistakes. Does a football team never make a mistake? Does a quarterback always succeed? If mistakes happen when attempting to move a ball a mere 10 yards forward, can mistakes not be expected in the Iraq war? About the only good thing in the end of Bush's term is that Democrats will finally shut up already, and start to concern themselves with their own mistakes. It'll be flip-flop football all over the field, dropping the ball left and right, taking brutal punishment, and being booed off the field. See, just when Dems were partying over Bush's low approval ratings, the Democrat-led government got ratings only half as good. Who's laughing now, Dems?

How great will the weeping be under a Democrat president? Even Germany is holding its breath. France is crossing it's fingers. Israel is stomping it feet. Muslims are waving in delight. Russians are at the roullette wheel, placing their chips on Democrat blunders. The Bears have intercepted the pass from quarterback Obama, and have taken the ball to the end-time zone.

It's 1:30 pm Eastern, 9:30 pm Georgian. Russia is not backing down. For unknown reasons, a small Russian convoy moved toward T'bilisi earlier. Condoleeza Rice is in the front row seats, yelling, "Russia must back off. Back Off! Back off now!" Russia meanwhile threatened Poland with a nuclear strike, as it were, saying that Russia's nuclear policy permits a strike against any nation if it's aided by another country having nuclear weapons. A Russian general said that Poland is setting itself up for strike, "100 percent." Joking aside, this could come true one day soon. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4541613.ece

Okay, we have seen that Russia has not gone away as the Americans arrived. But the Americans haven't exactly arrived with any force. Is force what it's going to take?

One unknown has become a known, as we hear the following from Georgian leader, Saakashvili: "'Today I signed the ceasefire agreement,' he said, speaking outside the presidential palace in Tbilisi, flanked by visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice." Now it's Russia's turn. My understanding is that this agreement was modified since it left Medvedev's office a few days ago. The Washington Times calls it a "draft truce agreement." The deal that he signed today says Russian "must leave immediately," but neither article tells whether Russians must leave all of Georgia. http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSLF24632020080815

The DEBKAfile says: "Russian president Dimitry Medvedev said after meeting German chancellor Angela Merkel [today] that South Ossetia and Abkhazia would no longer fall under Georgian sovereignty." Moreover, I read earlier in the day that Russia is offering these two states their own bid for sovereignty (my note: which Russia could refuse to grant later on). http://www.debka.com/index1.php

Unlike the Jerusalem Post, the Associated Press is unsure of whether Medvedev signed the deal, and moreover the article gives some important details:

"Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's press office had no information Friday night on whether he had signed the cease-fire agreement.

The cease-fire document sets out no specific penalties or deadlines. It contains concessions to Russia that Saakashvili obviously found hard to swallow. Russia could retain peacekeeping forces in the separatist region of South Ossetia and another breakaway region, Abkhazia, and the forces would have a broader mandate in South Ossetia."

Okay, so now we know that Saakashvili has accepted the stationing of Russians in South Ossetia. What does this have to do with prophetic fulfillment? I don't know. It would appear that the violence is over, and that a unknown span of time of non-aggression in Georgia is about to begin.

August 16

Most events in Iraq the past week are not worth reporting. Same old, same old. If you wish to follow what's been going on, you'll find several articles here. The most important event as far as my topic is concerned is al-Sadr calling for a blood pact to oust American military. I'm assuming that he doesn't like the deal being cooked up by Iraq, which allows U.S. soldiers to remain in Iraq, as though on a shelf, for up to three years. Another story of importance is the release of thousands of Sunni Arabs now imprisoned by Americans for al-Qaeda involvement. They may be released soon after the Iraq-US deal is formalized, for at that point, Americans will no longer have authority to detain Iraqs.

Al-Jazeera says that the Russian president will sign the deal that Saakashvili signed:

"The AFP news agency reported that the office of Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said: '[Medvedev] confirmed to him that he would also sign the accord and that Russia would scrupulously respect the engagements in the accord, notably those concerning the withdrawal of Russian forces.'

Zzzz (this is my sign that info above comes around midnight, info below the next morning).

Good morning. It's 7:30 pm Eastern, 3:30 pm Georgian. Medvedev claimed earlier that he signed the Sarkozy deal, which Saakashvili signed yesterday. It looks like the Georgian games are over, though I'll believe it only when I see the Russians off the field.

The Jerusalem Post has a major story today as concerns prophecy. For new readers juming in here, one of the main clues to the anti-Christ's identity is his invasion of Egypt at the start of, or just before the first half of Daniel's 70th Week, as per Daniel 11:25-29. I view Gog and the anti-Christ as one man, wherefore I expect, as per the common view that there will be a Gog-Iran partnership, an Iranian role in the invasion of Egypt. The Post speaks to this, reporting that Egypt is rubbing Iran the wrong way today:

"'Iran should not present on a silver platter the justifications and the pretexts for those who want to drag the region down a dangerous slope,' [the Egyptian spokesman] said, noting the case of Saddam Hussein who didn't adequately refute claims over Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction.
'Iran owes the international community transparency and flexibility,' he said. 'The Gulf is extremely worried and the Middle East is watching the standoff.'

While to normal people like you and I, these statements are tame, reasonable, unbiased, and filled with proper concern, Iran will take it as a big slap in the face. Radical Muslims will accept nothing from others but total bias toward their own goals and assessments. If we say that Israel has a good argument for flying jets over Lebanon to check for Hezbolah weapons, we become enemies of radical Muslims on the spot, even though Hezbolah fired hundreds of missiles into Israel just two years ago. If nothing is going on, Iran, Syria, and Lebanon, let the West come in and see for itself. Otherwise, the West has good cause to be suspicious. The fact that Iran is taking its secretive measures to the brink of war with Israel suggests guilt.

I expect a reaction from Iran on the Egyptian statement, and will report when I find it.

There is also the question of whether Iraq is turning a blind eye to Iran's passing of the weaponry to Syria, because Iranian weapons are coming into Syria from Iraq while Iran claims that Iraq is a good "friend" at present (webpage below). In my estimation, Iran would never talk a friendly position on Iraq if Iraq was vehemently opposed to Iran's weapons smuggling. In the same way, relations between Syria and Iraq are booming at present. Iraq's position could be to turn a blind eye to Iran's Israeli plot, but that counter-measures against Iran and Hezbolah will occur if the two flare violence in Iraq. http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/35228

A major related story, if it comes to anything, is this:

"WASHINGTON (AP) _ Iraqi Shiite assassination teams are being trained in at least four locations in Iran by Tehran's elite Quds force and Lebanese Hezbollah are planning to return to Iraq in the next few months to kill specific Iraqi officials as well as U.S. and Iraqi troops, according to intelligence gleaned from captured militia fighters and other sources in Iraq.

A senior U.S. military intelligence officer in Baghdad described the information Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press...

The officer on Wednesday provided Iraq's national security adviser with several lists of the assassination teams' expected targets. He said the targets include many judges but would not otherwise identify them. Iraq's intelligence service is preparing operations to determine where and when the special group fighters will enter the country and is to provide an assessment to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki."

There is justification for this leak, to get the Iraqi public aware of the plot. The motive would seem to be a hastening of the American pull-out. I half-believe that Shiite terrorist groups have, for months, been deliberately low key in Iraq, hoping to facilitate an American pull-out this year. Now that the pull-out doesn't look promising even for 2009, we see al-Sadr making a blood pact for the purpose of ousting the Americans, and also this leaked Hezbolah-Iran (both are Shiites) plot. The article ends by saying that "the 'special group criminals' are offshoots of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Jaysh al-Mahdi militia. They spun off their own groups after al-Sadr declared a cease-fire with the Iraqi government in August 2007 and are not thought to be under his control now."

On the other hand, how easy would it have been for al-Sadr to fabricate such an illusion so that he could utilize two faces i.e. two distinctive operations? Therefore, might he now be making a blood pact with those who had supposedly "spun off their own groups"? I should add that the above AP exclusive mentions the recent "sharp decline in the number of deadly roadside bombs bearing Iran's signature explosive design," but that this turn of events was attributed to the chasing out of Iraq the Iran-based Shiites. Might they have more-simply laid low in recent months, now about to raise their heads...just in time for Obama's fledgling government?

Just before Ahmadinejad came to Turkey a few days ago, he announced, "Whatever [U.S.] government comes [in the next election], it must leave the Middle East." As a part of that statement, he included Egypt in a list of allies, but this is only because of Egypt's position that Iran has a right to peaceful-purpose nuclear technology. What Egypt just said (as per the above report) might cause Ahmadinejad to scratch Egypt from the list. This leader decieves his own people as a rule, for example saying: "I am pleased to say that the [nuclear] negotiations [with the UN] are going in a constructive manner. Therefore we don't have a nuclear problem right now." The reality is, the UN views the negotiations as total disappointment, and is trying to make as many problems as possible for Ahmadinejad, and consequently for his people. http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD202508

Just got wind that the Georgian "games" are still on. Up until now, no media that I'm following has seen hint that Russians are pulling out of Georgia today, but one could have assumed that the pull-out needed a day, after Medvedev's signing of the ceasefire, before rolling its wheels. Now, CNN reports that "a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said it would not completely withdraw from Georgian territory until troops had finished cleaning up ammunition, weapons and boobytraps left behind by Georgian troops."http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/16/georgia.russia.war/index.html#cnnSTCOther1

Yesterday, Russia announced that a U.S. weapons cache was uncovered in Georgia; if untrue, the report likely has the purpose of justifying the Russian presence in Georgia even while the Americans are coming. South Ossetian leaders today are speaking the same tune, according to the biased Pravda media, that the war is the fault of America.

It's a given that one of Russia's purposes is to rough Georgia up sufficent to get it's people to reject Saakashvili, and to this purpose Saakashvili is blaming the war on NATO's negligence. But Russia seems to be in the throws of raising its head against the U.S., and this may be for more reason that the PR media war:

"For the past few evenings in the foothills of the Southern Caucasus on the outskirts of Joseph Stalin's hometown of Gori, reconnaissance units of Russia's 58th army have been raking through the spoils of war at what was the Georgian army's pride and joy, a shiny new military base inaugurated only last January for the first infantry, the army engineers, and an artillery brigade.

A couple of hours to the west, in the town of Senaki, it's the same picture. A flagship military base, home to the second infantry brigade, is in Russian hands. And down on the Black Sea coast, the radars and installations for Georgia's sole naval base at Poti have been scrupulously pinpointed by the Russians and destroyed.

Gori and Senaki are not ramshackle relics of the old Red Army of the type that litter the landscape of eastern Europe. 'These bases have only recently been upgraded to Nato standard,' said Matthew Clements, Eurasia analyst at Jane's Information Group. 'They have been operationally targeted to seriously degrade the Georgian military.'

'There is a presence of our armed forces near Gori and Senaki. We make no secret of it,' said the general staff in Moscow. 'They are there to defuse an enormous arsenal of weapons and military hardware which have been discovered in the vicinity of Gori and Senaki without any guard whatsoever.

The 'enormous arsenals' are American-made or American-supplied. American money, know-how, planning, and equipment built these bases as part of Washington's drive to bring Nato membership to a small country that is Russia's underbelly."

Ronald Reagen succeeded in getting the Berlin wall torn down, we may quip, but the fruit of it is a wall of American missiles running down the border of Russia and Eurasia. No, Reagan's people did not end the Cold War, but took the opportunity in a time of Russia's weakness to excite it. The following piece in the above article reflects the building of the sort of Russian morale that promises to pave the way for a Zhirinovsky-type leader to step up to the plate: "Putin may now calculate he can call off the dogs of war, having achieved his aims and able to pocket his gains very cheaply. The Georgia campaign becomes the triumphant climax of Putinism."

The writer goes on to say that, if the West doesn't stop this behavior, Russia will trudge into the Ukraine and other old stomping grounds. Four years ago, as I awaited the 2008-9 rise of a bold and confident Russian, under the authority of Putin, I couldn't have asked for a better "triumphant climax of Putinism" that the one the world has just witnessed. This once makes me all the more confident and bold in proclaiming the 2016 timetable. Are you sure it isn't time to prepare your trib retreat.

Zhirinovsky remains much too quiet or tame; either that, or media are not covering his remarks. The Russian victory has got to be one of the most exciting events in his life, and yet I can find practically nothing on his reactions. Consider how the online video, "Zhirinovsky Goes Ballistic Over Ukraine's NATO Bid," tells it all. Zhirinovsky said:

"Never will either Ukraine and Georgia make it to NATO. Let me explain why. If Ukraine and Georgia are accepted, major conflicts will begin, both in Georgia and on the borders of Ukraine. Does NATO need this?...Your country and economy will collapse. And what will NATO do?...Immediately there will be war with Abkhazia and Southern Osetia."

Of course, Zhirinovsky made these statements before the Georgian war began. I believe he made them in April of 2008, after Bush visited the Ukraine April 1-2, where NATO membership was a hot topic. The video, anyway, was uplaoded in mid-April. Notice how Zhirinovsky speaks like a commander of Russia.

It's noon Eastern, 8 pm Georgian time. The latest piece I could find was from the Associated Press (published 10:07 Eastern), telling that Russian troops at Gori are not yet showing signs of going away, but that some have started backing away from the T'bilisi front. Perhaps just for the night. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080816/D92JDVSG0.html

Well, my kids are here, and we're off to the lake; no more updates today, that is. Back at it by tomorrow morning to see if there's any sudden-death overtime in Georgia.

August 17

It's true, and shameful. The UN in Lebanon is hand-cuffed by fear of Hezbolah:

"An independent monitoring group in Lebanon has disputed a claim made by the commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) last week that Hizbullah has honored Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War, and called the UN forces 'hostages of Hizbullah.'"

Bush has yet to show teeth to his statement: "Now Russia needs to honour the agreement and withdraw its forces, there is no room for debate on this matter." Either Bush doesn't recognize that the Sarkozy deal allows Russia to have its way with Ossetia and Abkhazia, or he's objecting to that stipulation and trumping it with a threat. If it's meant as a threat, I think he'll carry it out. If he means that he'll force Russia out of the separatist regions, I think he'll carry it out. It's better than attacking Iran; he'll be attacking the root cause for Iran's confidence. http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/newsmlmmd.dfbadccb99dab747094999c505d37363.01.html

But will Americans win if Bush bring troops into Georgia, or will they sink American morale even deeper? What happens under such a scenario when Obama becomes the Commander-in-chief? What if Russia wins the conflict so that Americans will not try anything similar in northern Iraq? Let's wait for yet another day to pass to see if we can glean what Russia' up to.

Zzzzz.

"Good" morning, it's 6:15 Eastern, mid-afternoon in Georgia. For a "good" piece on yesterday's Russian malice, see webpage below. In short, even France is saying that Russia has violated the Sarkozy agreement, which Medvedev promised to go into effect as soon as Saakashvili signed it. Russia seems to be acting on Bush's threat of yesterday, but digging in rather than pulling out, thus requiring a response from Bush. Pravda features a scathing review of Bush's Iraqi ambitions intended to turn the Russian public against him in a way conducive to the start of war. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080817/D92JP4S00.html

If you want an asessment of the war thus far from the Georgian Times, read editorial comments at your own risk. They're likely heavily biased toward Georgian political ends.

In an AP article dated today, we find a Russian general claiming "that peacekeepers were starting to replace regular [Russian] troops in the flashpoint Georgian town of Gori, as Western pressure mounted on Russia for a full withdrawal." The only problem is, "'The Russian troops are starting to pull out and Russian peacekeepers are coming in,' General Vyacheslav Borisov told AFP..." (italics mine).

I'll believe it when I see it that Russia has finally ordered humanitarian aid to pass into Gori. It could be that Russia already has an excuse ready for not allowing aid in after all, but is going through the ropes of its blockade removal anyway, in an effort to appear willingly humanitarian and abiding by the ceasefire. "'All the roads are free for humanitarian aid and Georgians,' Borisov said."http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/newsmlmmd.dfbadccb99dab747094999c505d37363.01.html

In the meantime, Senaki, a junction city allowing access in one direction to Poti, has become the new Gori, and control of the electric plant in Inguri was seized upon this morning. With the German chancellor vising Georgia today, we find the Russians saying that they'll pull out tomorrow. But what do their peacekeepers look like? Surely they'll be armed with something, and even if their tanks are on the South Ossetian border, the trip back to Gori is under an hour.

Gori, by the way, was built or re-built (at the start of the Templar era) by the pro-Templar, king David IV, who claimed to have roots in king David of Israel, though the reality is that David stemmed from Armenians. The Templar flag of Jerusalem was the flag of Georgia in his day, and to this day. Clearly, the Templars (and England) were affliliated with David's Georgians, and it's a virtual fact in my mind that the Washington surname was likewise. There were a counterfeit-Israelite peoples laying claim to Jerusalem.

Ossetians stem from the Alanic peoples, who were themselves a main Sarmation tribe. Herodotus claimed that Gargarians and Amazons inter-maried to produce Sarmations....who were also called "Black Cloaks." I traced the Arthurian-Pendragon cult of England back to Ossetia, and, as an intermediate stop en route to England, to the Druid bedrock of Odrysia on the Hebros river, Thrace.

Odrysia was further traced to the "Atreus" myth code of Spartans that was the offshoot of mythical Pelops. In fact, Atreus was made the son of Pelops, showing that the Lydo-Heneti people depicted by Pelops were the Odrysians themselves...while evolving into the Druids. I traced the Atreus cult to the Atrebates (Celts) of southern England, in and around Hampshire...where also the Meons lived, who I trace back to the Maeonians of the Dionysus cult. It can be known that the Dionysus cult was closely allied to the Odrysians because myth made Dionysus allied to mythical Dryas, the symbol quite apparently of the Odrysians.

If you've read my treatment on the subject of the two golden lambs stemming from Pelops, know now that the two lambs were found in the sheep pen of Atreus and his twin brother, Thyestes...meaning that the myth writer recognized the twins as an integral part of the golden-fleece cult of Lydian Amazons. Therefore, the twins (probably depicting two Lydian tribes, or at least Heneti) represented the golden fleece bloodline leading to, in my hardening opinion, the False-Prophet cult of the last days, or more simply, the Freemasonic founders of Washington DC. Remember, Atreus gave birth to Menelaus, the symbol of Laas, a city on the Mani peninsula (Sparta), and this cult has written "Laus Dio" atop the Washingtom Monument.

The Menelaus cult was partly Egyptian, as can be deduced by other things besides the name of Menelaus' brother, Aga-Memnon, explaining why American Freemasons use a pyramid as their symbol. In Greek myth, Memnon was a king of Ethiopia, meaning that he depicted the Egyptians at Memnon of Upper Egypt. This Memnon was made the son of Tithonus, a myth code for the Sithones, who were a tribe of Edones in Thrace. The Edones were made sons of Dryas, as per Dryas being made the father of mythical (i.e. codeword) king Lycurgus of the Edones. I traced the Sithones to mythical Sthenel(a)us of Liguria; compare "Liguria" with "Lycurgus." I then traced the Sithones further ahead in history to Sitten, Switzerland, which is also spelled, "Sion," and from there I traced them to the Anglo-American Zionists.

The son of mythcode Sthenelus was made "Cygnus/Cycnus," a symbol of the Kikons/Caucones living beside the Edones. Cygnus was a swan, so to speak, explaining why Godfrey de Bouillon, the first ruler of Templar Jerusalem, used a swan symbol. I traced the swan symbol way back to lake Sevan in Aryan Armenia, where also Gogarene was situated. Consider the Ligurian capital, Savona. Also, it's known that Liguria was founded by mythical Gyptis elements...that I traced back to Menelaus Spartans. I also traced the Egyptian elements in Liguria back to Khnum, a god of the Nile that, long before I knew Obama, I thought to connect with "Kenya."

In short, Euxenos, the mythical spouse of princess Gyptis (of Lacydon, south France), was traced (by me) to the myth of Polyxena and Iphigenia, the latter being made the daughter of Agamemnon. Having connection with Agamemnon, the Gyptis/Euxenos trace goes back naturally to the Nile god, Khnum, but more in particular to the upper Nile (nearest to Kenya) where Memnon was at one time a kingdom.

As Khnum was a part of Egypt's frog cult, note that "The Hesiodic Catalogue of Women called [Iphigenia] Iphimede/Iphimedeia, and told that Artemis transformed her into the goddess Hecate." Hecate (also "Keket/Kauket") was the frog goddess of both Egypt and Caucasia, and especially of the mythical witch, Media (yes, depicting the Medes), daughter of king Aeetes of what is now Kutaisi (Georgia). I came to realize that the Hecate cult was depicted by the Trojan king, Hector, and his mother, Hecuba; the latter was made the mother of Polyxena, meaning that the Khnum cult of Egypt was also (i.e. as well as among Spartans) among the Trojans.

You won't hear any of this from anyone else (unless they copied from me). I imagine that the French are called "frogs" for this reason, but also because they trace back to Aryan "Phrygia"...where their Heneti ancestors lived...who were depicted in mythcode by the Trojan king, Antenor, evoking the goddess Anat of Egypt. Note that the rider of the golden fleece was made "Phryxus/Phrixus," an obvious code for Phrygians; I trace these peoples forward to Frigg and Frey, Scandinavian cults. Odin himself traces to the Sitones of Gotland and therefore to the Sithone Edones...at Sitten/Sion, Switzerland. It is said that George Washington traces to the Odin cult.

I traced the Sithone Edones to the Adonis cult of Sidon; Adonis there was likely the Poseidon (or perhaps Po-Seidon) Phoenicans, known to come from Egypt. I happened to trace Poseidon back to the Aten cult of Upper Egypt (though the Greeks identified Adonis with the Tammuz cult). I reasoned that the Sidonians at Laish, at the foot of mount Hermon/Sion, were mixed with Laz Caucasians who evolved into the Lasoni/Lydians, and that these particular Sidonians were the Sithones/Sitones who founded Sitten/Sion, Switzerland. From that vantage point, it began to appear as though "Sion" was a d/t-less version of "Sidon/Sitone," for which reason I traced Dion/Zeus, the brother of Poseidon, to Sidon. Evidence that proto-Lydians were at Mount Sion is the Litani river that flows past it to this day (i.e. same name today).

The Mygdonian tribe of Edones, in Thrace, can then trace back to Megiddo, south of Sidon, so that Armageddon, named after Megiddo, might be an affair involving the end-time Sion cult. I reasoned that since Greek Dorians were a major part in the founding of Macedonia, the two were from Megiddo and the nearby city of Dor. It became a strong opinion that mythical Dorus, depicting the Dorians, was the same as Dryas, symbol of the Odrysians, ancestors of the Edones. I traced Edones forward also to the Eotens, otherwise known as the Jutes.

It would seem that "Odin" was itself a symbol of Edones; his wife was made Frigg. Thus, both the Varnangian Rus side of modern Moscovites, and many western Europeans, had ancestry in these dark secret pagan cults, who became politically Christianized but not Christ-like.

The Arphaxadites within the Thracian world had mixed with Myso-Lydians of the Apollo cult. There were at times some rabid conflicts between the Apollo and Dionysus cults. In the end time, according to Revelation's fifth Trumpet (Revelation 9), the Apollo cult will devesate the kingdom of Gog with nuclear weaponry. I traced Apollo's harp symbol (= symbol of (H)Arphaxadites) to the wolf-depicted Hirpini (from Arpi) of Abellino (Campania, Italy), then to Avallon of Champagne (France), and finally to mythical Avalon of Arthurian Britain, which I identified as Rothesay, now called Bute, a Scottish isle honored and practically possessed by the dog-worshiping Stewarts of old. Apollo had been portrayed by a wolf, you see, and Romans traced themselves to a wolf peoples as per mythical Romulus suckling a she-wolf.

I can't recall if I mentioned it in these updates, but the deer symbol belonged to the Arphaxadites of northern Thrace (Transylvania, later Romania), namely the Carpae/Arpi who named the Carpathian mountains, and who evolved into the Hungarian Arpads, explaining why the Arpads were depicted in Hungarian myth-origins with the stag. It became clear to me that Romans were largely founded by the Arpi of (Tran)Sylvania as they evolved into the Hirpini, explaining why Romans re-named the region, Romania. There was not only an Harpasus river off of the Aras river, Caucasia, but another one near Harpasa and joining with the Maeander river in Lydia, if that tells you where the Arphaxadite dragon lived in the time of mythical Ares.

In Scythian myth, Scythians descended from the Borysthenes river (now the Dneiper), a son of whom was Harpoxis, reflecting "Arphaxad" and "Harpasas" (river) very well. The Lydian Harpasus was made the son of Harpe, simply meaning that the river was named after an Harpe peoples. I read online that ancients had measured 150 miles from the Harpasus to Phasis (modern Poti), though their measurements were often in error; in any case, 150 miles locates the Harpasus on the west side of lake Sevan, and very near Jerevan indeed.

I offer these findings for your interest when there is little news. It's 9:30 Eastern, dinner time for most Georgians (i.e. the ones that have dinner). The Times (UK) has a story now that I didn't see three hours ago:

"The Russian occupation of the Georgian city of Gori appeared to be more entrenched today, despite claims by President Medvedev that his troops were planning to withdraw.

...Russian troops were seen bolstering their positions in the hills which surround Gori, including creating improved machine gun posts.

Troops continue to surround Gori, with tanks, armoured personnel carriers and security forces are seen in and around the city, and with all Georgian police and law enforcement still banned by Russia from operating there.

Russia's continuing presence in the city is now causing huge anger and frustration within Georgia's military ranks...'

Just when I thought there was no pertinent news, a bombshell out of the least-suspected media, Al-Jazeera, which I haven't checked yet today until now:

"The Georgian president has said his country will not give up the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Mikheil Saakashvili said on Sunday [today] that Georgia will never give up a single square kilometre of the country's territory. He spoke at a news conference with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, after they met in the capital, Tbilisi.

For her part, Merkel said Russia should withdraw immediately and that Georgia was still welcome to join Nato...'Georgia will become a member of Nato if it wants to - and it does want to,' Merkel said."

This is like a declaration of war with Russia. Putin cannot be giddy about this turn of Saakashvili's mind, but I suppose that if Putin doesn't honor the Sarkozy deal, Saakashvili can violate it as well, namely, the part where he gives the separatist regions to Russian control as though surrendering them for good. Zhirinovsky is getting his war boots on, I can hear the laces tightening up from here. He has even decided to go off the bottle for this. Georgia must never be allowed to join NATO. If it does, NATO can enter the war against the Ruskies, legally. Merkel is a long-time Bush supporter, so perhaps she and he have been talking about laying a surprise on Putin. His smile has left his face.

Waiting for Russia's response.

Iran launched a satelite for the first time last night, meaning that it can now launch an atomic weapon. Russia in the meantime said it is considering nuclear missile launchers in Syria. Both stories dated today at http://www.debka.com/index1.php

Let's just call this a battle of the nerves. The end is not yet, relax. These are just the rumblings. Watch, is my advice to myself, and stay close to God for His advice on what I should do, and when.

It's 5:50 Eastern, and the media people are mainly off for the rest of the night. I'll have some updates for the morning. Hope you had a nice weekend. My kids and I tried wake boarding for the first, and I couldn't get up on the water, but it was fun trying.